Transcript The rise and fall of Imperial Japan. (by KA) The Pacific Ocean.

The rise and fall of Imperial
Japan.
(by KA)
The Pacific Ocean.
The Emperor Hirohito 1926-1989
• Complete control
• He started wars against
China, USA, Britain etc.
• Protected from
prosecution in 1945 by the
US - needed him to keep
Japan from collapsing.
Gradual Japanese advances.
• The Japanese army gradually crept
Southward, through China, fighting all
the way.
Japanese soldiers ‘conquer’ the
Great Wall 1933
• 1937 the Japanese army clashed with the
Chinese at the gates of Beijing (the Marco Polo
Bridge).
• This photo is just after the fighting had finished,
leaving the Japanese in control.
Japanese occupation of China.
•
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•
By 1938 There were 1 million Japanese troops in China.
By 1941 2 million troops- but this was still not enough.
Japan could occupy only key areas and cities.
Out of fear they adopted The ‘Three All Campaign’ (‘Kill
all, burn all, destroy all’)
• Japan simply didn’t have enough soldiers however.
• By 1945 4 million Chinese people had died and 60
million had been displaced.
• Many Chinese cities lay in ruins.
A baby
caught up in
the bombing
of a
Shanghai
railway
station
Japanese troops at Nanking
The Japanese army rapidly
advanced through China, IndoChina, Malaya, and Indonesia.
- Some Asian people
welcome them as
liberators from western
Imperialists
- Soon they were generally
feared as new
imperialists, not as Asian
liberators
• They treated nonJapanese peoples with
ruthlessness, cruelty and
severity.
Imperial Japanese
expansion up to 1941
(in brown)
Japanese technologies that
were potential war winners.
The ‘zero’ fighter plane.
• Much faster and more
maneuverable than
any other fighter at
the time.
The two biggest battleships ever!
The aircraft carrier.
• Only a few people realized that old battleships were
finally made obsolete by the aeroplane.
• Pacific naval wars were to be decided by planes from
ships, not by big guns.
The bicycle!
The army could
move very
quickly through
the region
whether or not
roads were
‘good
• NB This is
an actual
Japanese
army bike.
Soldiers.
• Soldiers, highly skilled
in attack, defense,
and jungle warfare.
• Highly motivated to
defend their Emperor
and their land to the
death.
The Japanese capture Hong Kong.
24.12.1941
Pearl Harbor (Hawaii)
Major fleet base of the US navy in the Pacific. Home to all the major US
warships in the Pacific. Destruction of these ships would take out all the
resistance to Japanese expansion.
7th December 1941-the ‘day of
infamy’.
The Japanese launch a surprise attack.
The Japanese had been shown how to attack a harbour with
planes by the British attack on the Italian fleet in Taranto
11.11.1940. The US navy had chosen to regard the feat as a
‘fluke’.
• US warships sinking
at anchor.
• Japanese carrier
planes ready to take
off.
The US fleet lies destroyed.
Unfortunately the Japanese destroyed
battleships, but no US aircraft carriers.
They also failed to either destroy or
capture the harbour.
Fantastic industrial output allows
the US to pour new ships into the
Pacific.
Midway Island. May 1942
A Japanese carrier
on fire and sinking.
US aircraft carriers outclass the Japanese carriers and catch them off
guard.
This is the turning point of WWII’s Battle in the Pacific for the US
Kamikaze.
• Kamikaze- ‘Divine Wind’.
• It became obvious that the US possessed
more and better war technology
• In desperation Japan ordered her young
men to beat the enemy by flying bombs
into the enemy (and dying in the process)
• These suicide bombers flew planes, or
manned suicide torpedoes.
US ships ablaze
after kamikaze
attacks
•
Another Kamikase hit on a US carrier.
•
A US sailor commented ‘the fight might be tough on land, but you can’t dig foxholes in
the sea’!
•
What do you think he meant?
The Atomic Bomb
• The first Atomic bomb
to be used in war…
‘little boy’.
• This bomb was
shipped from the US
a mere 4 hours after
the ‘Trinity’ A-bomb
test in the US.
• The actual radioactive
material inside was
the size of an orange.
The Enola
Gay. The US
plane chosen
to drop the
Atomic bomb
on Japan.
1st attack on Hiroshima- Aug 6 1945
• The effect of ‘little boy’
2nd attack:
Nagasaki
Aug 10 1945.
Atomic Bomb
number 2, “Fat
Man”
Nagasaki.
The Japanese surrender party onboard a US battleship (the USS MISSOURI)
in Tokyo Bay 15.9.1945.They are ‘enduring the unendurable’ at the Emperor’s
request. The Emperor finally concedes that Japan cannot face US technology
and survive.
Notice the gun
crews ready for
action on the right.
The Americans
were still fearful of
Kamikazes.
VJ Day
(Victory over Japan Day)
• The scene in
Times Square
August 14 1945.
• News has just
been released
that Japan has
formally
surrendered.
• World War two
has ended. But
the Cold War
has already
begun….
The End of the War.
• Japan lost 2.5 million people in the war.
• China lost 10 million people.
• The USA rebuilt Japan to enable it to recover as a
source of American influence in Asia.
• The Atom bomb was seen as the crucial symbol of
political power.
Asia after
World War II
MacArthur and Hirohito
The Japanese “Miracle”
• Japan emerged as an economic powerhouse after
World War II.
• Results were due to American military protection,
investment, and transfers of technology.
Open Markets
• To facilitate recovery, the U.S. opened its
enormous domestic market to Japanese goods.
– Cameras, watches, and television sets emerged as a
major export.
– Initially, Japanese goods were rather primitive, but over
time became more and more sophisticated.
• To replace the country’s physical plant, which had
largely been destroyed, the U.S. transferred
considerable technology to Japan.
– A greater percentage of up-to-date equipment than other
countries.
Auto Production
• The oil crisis of 1973
caused Americans to
purchase smaller
cars which Japan
was ready to supply.
• By 1993, Japan had
gained 30 percent of
the U.S. automobile
market.
• 1966 Toyota
U.S.-Japanese Relations
• The U.S. has remained Japan’s
biggest trading partner since the end of
WWII.
• In 1972, the U.S. returned Okinawa to
Japan but retained the right of
American military bases.
• Continuing sources of disagreement
concern the trade imbalance and U.S.
forces stationed in Okinawa.
Economic Decline in the 1990s
• By the early 1990s, Japan’s economy had
peaked and it began experiencing
economic difficulties and entered a period
of recession.
• By 1994, Japan began falling behind in
consumer electronics because of the
Internet as the computer and consumerelectronics industries merged.
– The U.S. software industry surpassed Japan’s.
Japan: Continuing Problems
• Overcrowding
– The population of Japan was 126.5 million.
– The density per square mile in 1998 was 863
compared to 70 plus in the U.S.
– Highest life expectancies in the world: 84 for
women and 77 for men.
Japan: Continuing Problems
• Cost of Living
– The phenomenal economic growth naturally
resulted in a rise in the standard of living.
– Per capita national income in 1994: $29,244;
U.S.: $20,382
– With the growth in the economy the prices of
goods skyrocketed.
– In 1991, prices in Tokyo were 27% higher than
in New York City.
– Mid 1990s– Gas: $4.25 a gallon; $13 a pound
for average-grade beef; BMW: $104,000